If you’re into photography, then you shouldn’t miss these two photography exhibits happening in Orangeville today all the way until next month. Read on if you’re interested.

Kicking off today until the 11^th of April is CLICK: In Studio and in the Field, an artwork exhibit by Ron Pitts and Pete Paterson, hosted by the Alton Mill in Orangeville. The exhibit is a hodgepodge of detailed photographs with images of wildlife and nature. Some of the photographs visitors can expect to see are shots of buffalo, whales, wild ducklings, and many more. The artists behind the exhibit will be making a special appearance on the 7^th of March, and will be answering questions about their works of art on the same day.

While it’s still a number of weeks away, mark your calendars and check out the exhibit hosted by the Touched By Light Photography Gallery. The gallery will feature an exhibition of photographs of sacred sites, and will take place from the 18^th to the 21^st of March. You can visit the gallery from 9 in the morning to 6 in the evening. A percentage of the event’s proceeds will be donated to the Choices Youth Shelter. You can logon on to www.circleofchange.ca for more information.

We’re almost halfway through the week, and the Town of Orangeville has some events happening tomorrow all the way till the weekend. If you’re looking to check out an activity or two here in the community, here’s a list we’ve put together for you to read on.

Taking place tomorrow, Dufferin Women in Business will be featuring Carol Ring, Rogers Communications VP for business transformation. She will be speaking at this month’s regular networking luncheon. The Orange Agricultural Centre will be playing host to the event, which takes place on 11:30 in the morning to 1:30 in the afternoon. Tickets are priced at $25 for members and $32 for non-members.

Taking place on the 26th of December is the Big Chili Round-up at the Grand Valley Community Centre. The event kicks off at 5:30 in the afternoon and will feature entries from local businesses. You can have dinner for only $5, which includes chili, bun, beverage, and dessert.

And if you’re planning on getting married, then you shouldn’t miss the 2010 Orangeville and Area Bridal Show on the 27th, which kicks at 10 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon at the Orangeville fairgrounds. The annual event will feature live entertainment, games and prizes, free samples, raffle draws, and lots of freebies.

The beginning of John and Kersty Franklin’s relationship didn’t exactly get off to what we’d call a “great start” – terrible is more like it.

In May of 1999, Kersty, who was 44 then, worked as a sex therapist for the prison system in Florida. She was making plans to come up to Toronto in September of that year to hold a training seminar.

John on the other hand, just retired from his job as a university professor due to his developing of Parkinson’s disease. He had just opened a bed and breakfast in the Mono region, which he advertised as close in proximity to the city.

It was then that Kersty heard about John’s place and sent an inquiry after hotels in the city were booked for the Toronto International Film Festival. John sent back a long reply about why Hockley Valley was a great place to live in, and sent detailed bits of information on the sites to see and spots to visit.

But John also wrote her about the qualities he was looking for in a woman at the bottom of his reply, something which irked Kersty. According to her, she was shocked by the nerve of John to say such a thing. She wrote John back and said that she was disgusted with what he said.

John wrote a reply and apologized, saying that he was only joking. Kersty sent an apology after a few days.

It was then that the two began to correspond a lot, with Kersty making a visit to John’s bed and breakfast. Both were smitten when they first met. They finally tied the knot in March 2001.

Joe Sealy, a renowned Canadian jazz pianist and composer, has deep ties with Orangeville’s arts scene. In 1994, he played the inauguration of the opera house after it underwent renovation. Together with former ballet dancer and producer/director Veronica Tennant, they performed to an excited audience – it’s a memory Sealy holds dear in his heart.

Fresh from receiving the prestigious Order of Canada, Sealy took to the opera house stage once more on Friday, February 5, as part of the Orangeville Concert Association’s (OCA) 2009-2010 season.

The two hour show featured a range of musical styles, with traditional song numbers done by Gershwin and Duke Ellington. Sealy performed together with three talented songstresses, namely Julie Michels, Adi Braun, and Gillian Margot – the trio also known as the Jazzbirds. And although Margot was unable to perform in Orangeville due to a conflict of schedule, Sealy was quickly able to replace her with Alana Bridgewater, a talented performer in her own right.

The show was a good mix of everything, with Michels performing jazz standards, Alana singing songs that border on R&B, and some other numbers with a gospel influence. Sealy on the other hand, accompanied the Jazzbirds on the piano.

With the show being a success, Sealy is looking forward to make another return to the opera house stage.

Renowned sculptor Ann Mortimer will be the first ever artist to exhibit at the Aurora Cultural Centre in Ontario.

She’ll be showcasing a collection of umbrellas crafted from clay, inspired by the paper umbrella factory she visited during her time spent in China.

Mortimer said it took a lot of time and effort to construct the umbrellas. She had to go through a lot of failures and designs to make them, she added. What drew her to make her clay creations was how the paper umbrellas made in that China factory seemingly took her breath away with their bright color and eye-catching designs.

For years, Ann Mortimer has made a name for herself for creating pieces many thought would’ve been impossible.

After working for a few years as a nurse, her interest in clay was sparked after a visit to King Crafts. After the untimely passing of her husband, she put up a house with an art studio on the property she and her husband bought on the Newmarket/King Township border.

She further honed her talent by attending a 2-week workshop with Hockley Valley Fine Arts, learning more techniques on how to craft clay.

Fast forward to today; Mortimer is considered one of the country’s most creative sculptors.

Avid beer drinkers will be delighted to know that Hockley Valley Brewing, which is based in Orangeville, Ontario, is busy brewing its latest beer called Hockley Black & Tan, which representatives from the company say will be out on stores this summer

If that sounds like too much of a long wait, why not chill for the meantime and read more about the beer?

Hockley Black & Tan is a mix of the existing Hockley Stout, which makes up the “Black”, while new concocted ale will serve as the “Tan”. Hockley Black & Tan is a beer with a dark mahogany color, with hints of smoke, coffee, as well as chocolate, and small touches of sweet malt. The brewery described its new creation as a light and crisp beer perfect for all occasions.

And like all beers from Hockley Valley, expect to see Hockley Black & Tan will in can form.

Hockley Valley Brewing is a company dedicated to brewing beer to nothing short of perfection. Each step of their brewing process is done by hand – from beginning to end in small batches. The popular brewery also describes itself as a company that blends beers infused “The Perfect Balance”.

The “King of the World” is at it again, this time winning a Golden Globe for Best Director, for his 3-D sci-fi blockbuster hit, “Avatar”. It was the second Globe in the Best Director category for Cameron, who scooped one for Titanic over a decade ago in 1997.

Avatar has virtually shattered almost all imaginable box-office records in less than two months, with only one film standing in its path to glory: Titanic.

The 55-year old director admitted to being astounded by the film’s success and even nervous at first because of the public’s reaction after seeing the trailer for the first time. Many blasted Avatar before the film even came out, calling the Na’vi (the alien race depicted in the film), “something off of a Smurfs episode”.

It’s worth noting that the successful director spent many of his childhood years in Caledon, which is just south of the Town of Mono. In fact, Cameron even named Titanic’s villain, Caledon Hockley, which unknown to many, is a reference to the town as well as Hockley Valley, a favorite destination in the Caledon and Mono region. Cameron at one point, admitted to having spent a lot of time here.

The holidays may be officially over, but it doesn’t mean you can’t savor the remainder of the winter season by going skiing! And for parents who want to spend some quality time with their kids while hitting the slopes, here’s a word of advice: get your children into skiing as early as possible.

The old adage that goes, ‘You can’t teach an old dog, new tricks’, happens to apply to skiing, Of course, we’re not saying that those who start off a little later are bound to be inept, but the benefits of teaching kids how to ski at a young age are numerous.

There are plenty of factors as to why this is so.

1. Kids are small and short. This means that accidents are less likely to happen as falls would only mean a short distance to drop the ground. Children are also used to slipping and falling down, unlike us adults.
2. Kids are akin to sponges. They suck up information far faster that adults do – blame it on their excitement to learn and prove themselves. And much like riding a bike, once a child learns to ski, he/she remembers it for ages.

Hockley Valley is just one of the many areas in Ontario where families can have good and clean fun in the snow. So what’re you waiting for? Come on up to Hockley Valley, and have a taste of paradise.

Moved by the plight of Aidan Benoit, a 3 year old victim of a rare kind of childhood cancer called neuroblastoma, Makayla Pereira, felt she had to do something to keep Aidan’s memory alive and maybe even raise awareness against the disease that took him away at such an early age.

So, the then 10 year old from Orangeville decided to be at the frontline of the first Aidan’s walk that happened in downtown Brampton back in 2008. The event was able to raise $ 2,500 back then and this year, it raised $ 2,700. The proceeds of which all went to the James Birrell Foundation of the Sick Kids Hospital where it will be used for the fight against neuroblastoma.

For 2010, the event that Makayla started will be held on Januaray 3^rd, Sunday. This time around, it will be a little more family-friendly with a 5km skate-a-thon to be held atBrampton’s Garge Park. The event will start off at 11 in the morning and everyone is encouraged to be on the venue a little bit earlier than that.

Just like in the beginning of the Olympics at Greece where pigeons where used to relay the outcome of the Olympic games from one country to another, pigeons will still take part in yet another Olympic event. This time around, the winged creatures will mark the end of the Olympic Torch’s passing in Orangeville on the 28^th.

To make the event even more memorable, there everyone from the area – including residents and tourists from Hockley Valley – can expect a couple of hour’s worth of pure entertainment with performers dancing throughout the area. After which, two pairs of skydivers will then come out from the sky as 30 homing pigeons are released to commemorate the event’s finale.

The pigeons will come from Fred Byers together with his son-in-law. The birds themselves have had quite a bit of preparation to be able to participate in this event starting on the first days of this month. Byers, a bird breeder with almost 50 years of experience, has been honing the pigeons to fly to Kitchener.

So, with all these things coming down on us during the holidays, let’s all show our support for the community and enjoy ourselves!